


Blondie

by Sarcastic_Hypocrite



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 09:51:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4055581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcastic_Hypocrite/pseuds/Sarcastic_Hypocrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gaara and Deidara's relationship is going downhill, and with Gaara deciding to go to college in Konoha, the blonde has decided to unlock his long shut promiscuous ways. What will happen when another blonde starts to fill the space within Gaara's aching heart? GaaNaru with mentions of GaaDei.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Graduation

**A/N:** It has been a good many years since I really sat down and wrote anything, so this is sort of like a whole new experience in a way. I've gone through and read all of my old stories, which are now pretty crappy in my opinion. Some may be re written and uploaded at a later date, though I don't hold my breath on the majority of them having a conclusion if it does happen.

This is one of my old ideas that I never actually wrote about, so I feel pretty comfortable using it as a way to expand my mind past it's rut that it's in and create a new writing style from scratch. That being said, please don't judge me too harshly. I expect many mistakes, but that's half the fun of fanfiction! Please enjoy.

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own the Naruto franchise.** Please do not sue me for my pocket lint.

It was the moment that many had been talking about for years. The moment that would change the lives of over a thousand people at a time, one where it was custom to wear a cap and gown, moving the tassel from the left side to the right, signaling the end of what most considered to be a crucial part of life. There was one individual who had been both waiting for and dreading this day for a few good months by then. The normally stoic man was fidgeting, the tassel in front of his face not helping a bit as it moved every time he did. He pulled at his gown collar as if it were choking him, even though it was obviously over-sized. There was only one reason he kept himself glued to his seat, and that was the blond haired man sitting to the right of him. Otherwise he would've bolted a long time ago.

Then it happened. Their row was called to stand, a wave of navy blue gowns standing all in uniform as they made their way to the long line that was stagebound. Names were being called as people shook the hands of their principal and school district leaders, Some people crying and others beaming with happiness as cheers were heard from the audience. It was enough to make anyone clam up, palms sweating as if they had become water faucets.

“Deidara Iwa.” He heard as his blonde haired boyfriend walked calmly from one side of the stage to the other, shaking hands and bowing at the appropriate time. It made the man who stood behind the blonde suddenly ten times more alert as to what was going on, seeing his boyfriends bleached ponytail swaying in the distance and the look of distaste on the principal's face. He knew what it was, the blonde's hands were always incredibly sweaty, almost as if they were little tongues instead of hands. Then his name was called, and that time it was a call of power. One that signaled the end of his thirteen year journey, and the beginning of adulthood.

“Gaara Sabaku.” Rang through the air, and the red head forced himself to take the last steps onto the stage. His face held the same expression it always held, one of stoic origins, but his insides were screaming when he took hold of his diploma. That was it. It was all over at that point. He could hear people clapping, and the feint calls from his two siblings, Temari and Kankuro, in the crowd of people. But he couldn't bring himself to do much else besides getting his diploma and off the stage.

That was it. He sat back in the chair that he was in before and watched the rest of the procession with both a sense of relief and sadness washing over him. It was a good feeling, to finally be done with overbearing lessons he couldn't control, on subjects he couldn't be bothered with. It was a freedom that anyone at his age would want. But it was the same freedom that saddened him. There had been multiple occasions where school had been the only thing keeping him and Deidara together. He had caught the blond with both men and women all but four times, and there is no telling whether there had been more or not. He knew that his blond boyfriend hung out with the wrong crowd before they started dating, many of which were druggies and sex addicts. But he also couldn't say that he was a perfect little angel, either. So, Gaara came to accept the fact that Deidara was trying to change his ways when the red head first confronted him about it. That had been their sophomore year. He had been caught three more times since then, and it had only left Gaara more paranoid, since most of his past relationships were a hell of a lot worse. He knew he probably should have left the blonde the first time he caught him with another person, but he loved the man, and he couldn't deny that a part of him was still hoping it would work out. 

“We're finally breaking out of the nest, Gaara! Time to get on with life, new places to see and people to meet, yeah?” Deidara said as he leaned back in his chair. He watched the procession lazily, smirk on his face that the red head could only read as satisfaction. Gaara, however, didn't move, his arms crossed and his eyes shut as he composed himself. The nerve wracking part was indeed over.

“It is nice to finally be graduated. Though that doesn't nessicerily mean done with classes.” He would say, earning a snort in response. Gaara had sent off letters to all of the major universities, wanting ultimately a degree in business so that he would be ready to take over the business his father left behind. He may not have seen eye to eye with his father, but the business was stable, and rapidly growing at that. Stability was something Gaara never had, but always craved.

“You have fun with all the major fancy classes, Koi. I'll stick with having a job and a hell of a lot of free time.” Gaara bit the inside of his cheek at that. He didn't know what this over abundance of free time would bring for the blonde, but he knew it probably wasn't anything good.

Finally the procession drew to a close, and people started making a mad dash out of the huge stadium to meet up with their respected graduates. Gaara was glad to finally take off his cap and gown, feeling suffocated in the fabric. He stuffed them into a bag he had brought with him and kept underneath his chair, not really caring about if the gown got wrinkled for his official graduation photos in a week. Temari ordered them specially to join hers and Kankuro's, but it was mainly for show. They met him outside of the stadium, standing in a nearby planter box that was home to a large tree. Deidara had already left to meet up with his older brother, not bothering to say a word to the red head as they parted ways. Gaara had grown used to that kind of behavior, the blonde becoming more short with him as time went on.

“Oh Gaara, we are so proud of you!” Temari called, bringing him into a bear hug while her on and off boyfriend, Shikamaru, watched with somewhat of a bored look. Kankuro showed one of his rare smiles as he pulled his baby brother out of Temari's clutches and into a one-armed hug. “Yeah, can't believe you actually made it out of there alive. For a while there we didn't know if you were even going to make it to high school.” Kankuro would say. Gaara knew what he was talking about, they all did. Middle school had been the worst for Gaara, between his constant bad relationships and their father's mentality being shot, he had always been a target in one way or another. If it wasn't for his siblings, he probably wouldn't have made any farther than a street gang.

Temari insisted on some pictures after that, pulling out his cap and tassel from his bag and stuck it on his head long enough to snap a couple of group selfies. They mainly consisted of Temari smiling in someway while leaning into a bored Shikamaru behind her. Kankuro would be making some attempt of annoying his little brother in one way or another, and said red head, other than a tiny bit of an annoyed frown gracing his lips, looked mostly the same. They went and got the picture framed afterwords and gave it to Gaara, who left it on his dresser at home. His older sister even made the effort of baking a cake for the occasion, even if Gaara wasn't too fond of sweets.

“Is Dei-Chan going to come over tonight? He adores sweets, why don't you invite him over?” Temari called to Gaara from their kitchen, he was lounging on a large sectional in the living room. He absentmindedly played on his phone, looking up different games that the app store had to offer while he waited for the party to start, mainly with family friends that Temari and Kankuro had invited to celebrate.

“He's been invited.” The red head spoke, unfazed as he beat yet another level in an impossible game. He wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Deidara didn't show up, the blonde had a lot more friends to hang out with and probably a lot of party invitations, too. Gaara felt a little twinge of jealousy hit him at the thought of what his boyfriend would be doing at said parties- or more specifically WHO he would be doing. He wondered if it was too much to ask for the blonde to get drunk and do him for once, but told himself that was the jealousy talking and shoved it away. He didn't like being such a jealous person.

There was no definite start for the party. Gaara soon found himself surrounded by old and young faces alike, and stuck with people he knew better than others. Lee decided to talk his ear off, aspiring to one day be a track running in the world Olympics with Tenten making comments every once in a while. Temari was completely wasted, and had soon disappeared altogether with Shikamaru. Kankuro talked mostly to his buddies from work, and occasionally trying and failing to get his long time crush, Matsuri, to notice him. Gaara smirked as he watched his older brother be chased out the door after he allegedly grabbed Matusuri's ass.

Once Gaara became bored with the party, he went to his room with a couple beers in tow. He knew people would leave either of their own accord, or when Temari woke up the next morning and shooed out the people to drunk to leave for the night. He made it a point to turn down the music after a certain hour, not really wanting to deal with the cops coming over from them being too loud since the last time they were there he was the one who dealt with it. He checked his phone and sure enough, there was no word from the blonde.

He sighed, taking a swig of the beer he had opened in the other room. Temari knew that he drank even though he was a minor, but she also knew he was smart enough to not get himself totally wasted or become an alcoholic. He had too many plans for the future for that. Though he had a creeping feeling that those plans were not going to involve his love of three years, and that even though it wasn't spoken, graduation had also been the end of their relationship. Laying on his bed, Gaara would feel himself go numb from the alcohol. He had not cried in many years, and he didn't intend to start, either. So he would just lay there, letting himself get enveloped by the buzz he had acquired and the banging music from the other room as he slowly drifted to sleep.

A week went by, and it felt as though he was just on summer vacation. Deidara had come over the morning after the party, apologizing for his absence and even offered to help Temari clean up the place. It was when Gaara saw the fresh purple bruises on his neck that he knew his suspicions had been correct. He hadn't bothered to say anything as he left the house that day, and had no intention of seeing or spesking to his blonde haired... he wasn't even sure what to call Deidara at that point. Temari ironed out his graduation gown, and official graduation photos taken. His picture was added to his older siblings grad photos on the wall they had for that specific purpose. And soon the day came when Kankuro would not even bother to knock on Gaara's door as he rushed in, a handful of mail and a grin from ear to ear plastered on his face.

“Hey squirt, looks like you got your replies from the universities.” He said, interrupting Gaara from his leisure time. The red head looked up from his desktop computer to the bundle of mail in Kankuro's hand, taking them while ignoring the fact his older brother hadn't knocked.

“It will take a bit to sort through all these. Don't hold your breath, Kankuro.” Gaara went to his bed and started opening the letters one by one, and seeing how long it would take him to open them Kankuro eventually left and came back with a palm sized model sword used as a letter opener. He sorted through the accepted and rejected letters, Not really caring about which ones had rejected him. Instead he looked through all of the acceptance letters, and out of all of them he decided to choose between Suna University and Konoha University.

He didn't particularly want to go to Suna University, but it was within walking distance of his home, so he could just live at home while he went to school. That would be the cheap way to go. Though he had been to Konoha many times as a child, and had in some ways preferred the greenery to the consistent desert. It would also mean that he would be able to get a fresh start with a whole new set of people, though not totally alone since that's where Lee, Tenten, and Neji lived. Thankfully he still had a month to decide on what he wanted to do, so he threw away the rest of the acceptance letters and went out to the living room to show Kankuro and Temari which schools he would choose between.

“These are the two you've decided on, huh? They're both really high up there schools.” Temari said. He knew his siblings would both want him to go to opposite schools. Temari wouldn't want him to leave Suna, being more of his motherly figure to him since middle school. but Kankuro believed it was time for him to spread his wings.

“And your surprised, Temari? Come on, Gaara's a genius. I'm surprised he didn't get accepted into higher schools, but they're full of a bunch of rich snobs anyway who probably paid their way in.” Kakuro said, kicking up his feet onto the ottoman in the center of the sectional. Gaara watched as his siblings went on about the schools, not really leaning towards one or the other and stayed quiet. He decided to leave shortly after a shoe flew by his head towards Kankuro, not wanting to get involved with the older two's squabble.

He hadn't really left the house much since Deidara had paid a visit. The fresh air felt good against his face, even if it was desert air, and he would probably like it even more if it was twenty degrees cooler and shaded by decently leaf covered trees. He found himself walking to one of his favorite music shops, being old fashioned in preferring a collection of CD's instead of buying all of his music online. It was also one of the places he and Deidara both liked, and would often let himself let go and enjoy the store, or at least as much as he would let himself go in public.

To no surprise he actually saw the blonde there, and was about to walk up to him when something caught the red heads eye. He would see another red head, only he had darker hair and was taller, his eyes a muddy shade of brown. The man also had on a smirk, something that you couldn't entice out of Gaara if your life depended on it. Deidara's makeup was thicker than normal, his eyes outlined completely by thick black eyeliner, something he had stopped doing after Gaara and him had started dating.

If that wasn't enough to send Gaara over the deep end, the stranger in Deidara's compay added salt to the wound by leaning in and nipping at Deidara's ear. The blonde instantly melted into the touch, and the one soft moan that escaped his lips was enough to send Gaara over the deep end. He walked up to them and did something he hadn't done in years.

He socked the blonde right in the jaw.

The other red head just stood and watched, raising an eyebrow in amusement as Deidara's boyfriend hit him, seeming unfazed by the display of violence. Deidara looked up, shocked at what happened since he knew Gaara wasn't all that fond of hurting others. He pulled himself back up and brushed himself off, looking to the visibly shaking red head in front of him.

“...Look, Gaara, It's not what you think, yeah? Sasori's an old friend.” He said, which only made Gaara's anger grow. His eyes would narrow to slits as he picked the blonde up off the floor, despite the height difference. There was murder in his eyes. Deidara didn't move, or even try to defend himself. He had seen this confrontation coming for a while.

“You and your 'old friend' can make out someplace else.” He threw the blonde into a nearby stand full of DVD's, the blondes back hitting the steel rack hard as it and him went crashing down. Gaara turned towards the exit, ignoring the look of shock on the cashier's faces. “Don't bother calling me again. You've blown all your chances.” He said, venom dripping from his voice as he left without another glance.

He knew at that point that he wasn't going to stay in town for college. Even when Kankuro brought up later that night that change would be good, he already knew what his final decision would be. The house was eerily silent for the majority of the night, save for Temari cooking up Gaara's favorite dish and the TV going just for the background noise. It hadn't been that way in over three years, but they fell into it just like a routine. Someone had hurt Gaara again. Again, there was contention in the Sabaku household.

He decided then that he wasn't going to be hurt anymore. He'd start over fresh, with new people and a new reputation. He decided to study in Konoha.

 **A/N:** Not sure how I feel about this so far... Please review.


	2. Same Kind Of Blonde

The month seemed to all but fly by, much to Temari's chagrin. She helped Gaara pack a good amount of his things, some would be put into storage while a good portion made it's way into a rented van. They were leaving three days before classes began to give them time for the ten hour drive, and also to give Gaara time to unpack and become acquainted with the campus and surrounding areas. All of his paperwork had been mailed into the administration office, and not long after he received his dorm number and key.

 

“Thank goodness the dorm will already have furniture.” Temari said, cramming the last box into the back of the dark purple van. There were only enough seats left up out of seven, but thankfully it was a pretty roomy van. There were several duffel bags full of clothes, and boxes mostly with CD's. There were other things, pictures and posters that he collected over the years, and bedding to use. They had to buy brand new bedding, since he would be downsizing back to a twin size bed while he was there, but Gaara didn't mind.

 

There was an audible 'click' when the back of the van was closed, only thing left to do was cram in some snacks and then their own bodies, which reminded them of a can of sardines from the close proximity. The sun was just barely peaking in since they were leaving so early, but it was already in the low 80's. Kankuro cranked on the AC as they drove out of the driveway, and Gaara got one last good look at the house he grew up in. It matched it's surroundings, the stucco being a sandy color and the windows having white blinds in them to reflect the scorching sun. A part of him, although very small, was going to be homesick, but it was only for four years. He knew he would also be home for a month in the winter, and two in the summer, so it wouldn't be horrible.

 

Soon enough they were on the highway, and his older siblings would be fighting over the radio in the front seats. Gaara pulled out his phone and headphones from his pocket, already prepared for the long ride since he knew they would be bickering for quite some time. He turned on his own music and put it on shuffle, having over a thousand songs meant he wouldn't run out of tunes anytime soon. With that, he leaned back and did his best to try and fall asleep, though to no avail. He had a hard time sleeping on a regular basis, let alone a nap.

 

Two hours flew by, and already the siblings were reaching the uncomfortable stage of the trip. Temari cringed at having to drive all the way back after dropping Gaara off, thankfully though it wouldn't be until the day after. No way they would be driving for twenty hours straight.

 

“Jeez, I take it back, go to school back home, Gaara.” Kankuro said, his feet up on the dashboard as he leaned back as far as the red head's stuff would let him. Gaara didn't say anything, mainly because he couldn't hear anything, but had he had his earplugs out he probably wouldn't have said anything anyway. Kankuro scoffed, changing out the CD's in the CD player since the radio had long gone out. They were out in the boonies, but not near close enough to Konoha for it to start cooling down.

 

Four hours down, and the middle child was out cold, snoring. It was finally cool enough to turn down the air conditioner, and Gaara and Kankuro had switched spots at the last rest stop they were at so he was in the back. “Wonder if he'd wake up to an air horn...” Temari said, which caused a the tiniest smirk to chisel on the red head's face. He did enjoy the many pranks that Temari pulled on their brother.

 

“Don't even think about it, woman, I'll make sure you sleep with shaving cream for a week.” Kankuro retorted, eyes still closed as Temari bit back a laugh.

At the same time, six hours away, a blonde man was just getting out of bed.

 

“Naruto, you're gonna be late!” Came the call of an older blonde woman who busted into his room, arms folded. The blonde woke up with a start, looking to his frog alarm clock with his groggy sky blue eyes. He'd slept in four hours longer than he had planned on.

 

“Ah crap! At this rate I'll have to get a brand new dorm room!” He erupted, stumbling out of bed as he grabbed some clothes strewn around the room to change into. He hadn't packed, oh no, he still had laundry to do. And that alone was all over his room. Tsunade took in a breath and let it out slowly, seeing the pile of empty boxes and duffel bags still piled into the corner of his room. He had promised her that he would at least pack some of his stuff by himself.

 

“What a mess.” She said to herself, picking up his clothes off the floor while she heard him scrounge around in the bathroom. She picked up the man's clothes, putting them in a wicker basket to take to the washer, dumping them all in and starting them. It was the least she could do before her grandson went to college. After all, it would persuade him to lose some of the weight he had put on from eating so much ramen with pants that were no doubt going to be two sizes smaller.

 

“Hurry up, brat, this all should've been packed before you went to bed last night!” She called out from the living room, and soon heard more banging. Probably stuffing boxes full of random figurines and useless school supplies he probably would never touch. It was like highschool all over again, only on a much larger scale.

 

Eight hours in. The sibling trio were having to take breaks more frequently, meaning they would probably make it their in closer to eleven hours, unless Temari sped the rest of the way. She considered it, since most of the time they were in the middle of nowhere.

 

At that point Naruto finally had his stuff packed, albeit sloppily and a lot of stuff still left over in his room. It wasn't a horribly big deal though, his house only being an hour and a half away from the school. The only reason he had opted into a dorm room was because it was much cheaper than driving a car to and from school every day, and he got a discount on tuition for living in the area he'd use to pay for the dorm. No doubt he would head home for many weekends, and so he had plenty of time to straighten out both rooms. Tsunade looked at the horror film once known as Naruto's bedroom and raised an eyebrow.

 

“You better not be leaving this mess for me.” She told him. Naruto shook his head.

 

“Nah I'll clean it up next weekend. Right now though I'm in too much of a hurry granny.” He'd say, shoving the last box into his car. It was a decent ford, and one that anyone could spot anywhere with it's bright orange paint and frog eating ramen bumper sticker. The old woman leaned against the door frame at the front of her house. She couldn't believe that her only grandson was already headed off to college, and how proud his parents would be had they still been around.

 

“Heh, don't have too much fun over there, kid.” She'd tell him. He smiled up to her and came in for a hug. Man, was she gonna miss his loud mouth around the house every day.

 

“No promises, granny. Hehe, don't get too drunk, I'll be here almost every weekend, ya know!” He'd say. He'd give her one last wave before getting in his car and drove off. Tsunade couldn't help but stay put for a long time before heading back in. She went over to the phone, staring at it a minute before picking it up off the receiver.

 

“Might as well check on the old perv.”

 

Ten hours. It was a decent temperature outside, only mid seventy's compared to Suna's hundred plus degrees, and the area they were in was much, much greener. Temari bought a ticket allowing her to park by the dorms while they unloaded. It was a nice, red brick building with a lot of windows, which made sense since it was designed to house a large number of students.

 

“Do you want to go get the room open while we start unloading, Gaara?” Temari asked. The red head gave a small nod, pulling out his keys from his pocket. The dorm key was delivered by mail for convenience. Immediately inside the building was a foyer, with many couches, TV's, and vending machines. Not too far from there was where the dorm rooms began. He checked the room number, 306, meaning it was going to be on the third floor.

 

Since he didn't have any heavy boxes, he decided to take the stairs up to the third floor. It wasn't too far of a walk from there, the rooms looking much like hotel rooms, and part of him wondered if it had once been a hotel. The hallways were nicely decorated with seemingly fresh paint and new, clean carpet. Or perhaps it had just been recently cleaned.

 

He made it to the door and unlocked it, pushing it open. Immediately inside he was met with a kitchen area to the left of him, which hosted a full sized fridge, microwave, and a decent sized sink with cupboards above them, presumably with dishes inside. The whole floor had a kitchen to use and he received a key for that as well. To the right was another door, which held a bathroom that thankfully hosted a tub in it as well. It was no wonder that the rent was so high.

 

Further on he would see two twin sized beds minus bedding with nightstands, Two matching five-drawer dressers, and two decent sized desks to do work on. The room mirrored itself, with one big window right in the middle. He decided to go with the left side, since he was there early he could pick the side he wanted. Heading into the bathroom, he noticed that it was a decent size, enough to hold whatever him and someone else needed. He found himself hoping that whomever he wound up rooming with wasn't going to be a complete and utter ignoramus and slob.

 

Kankuro and Temari started to haul things in not long after, so he felt comfortable enough to leave the room and start unpacking. About halfway through the haul from the van to the dorm room, He would spot a flash of blonde, one that would penetrate his heart just enough to take a better look at the owner.

 

The man's hair was definitely blonde, as blonde as someone else he used to know. But this man's eyes were much brighter, and his face more child like. He was also much more clumsy, as Gaara noticed when his chest collided with a box, many random objects flying out onto the sidewalk and grass.

 

“Ehh sorry about that. This box is pretty big so I can't see over it.” The blonde said, prior to that having put down the box and scratched his head. Gaara couldn't help but blink. He looked and acted nothing like Deidara, but his blonde hair... It was enough to stick him like a voodoo doll.

 

“Watch where you walk.” Gaara said cooly, turning around with his own duffel bag in hand as he headed back into the lobby.

 

“Sure. Hey, wait a minute, so you're staying here too, huh? That's cool, I live up on the third floor. This place is pretty sweet, a friend of mines lived here for a year now...” The blonde would say, following Gaara onto the elevator. It was as if he didn't have an off switch, talking about everything between food and the universe exploding. It unsettled the red head, since most people he was around were only loud when arguing. He couldn't seem to get out of the elevator fast enough when the third floor finally came.

 

“Oh cool, you're only like three doors away from me! Maybe we could hang out sometime!” He would say. Gaara could barely keep his cool when the blonde not only followed him, but into his room where Temari and Kankuro were unpacking and getting ready to head down and grab more stuff.

 

“Looks like you've picked up a stray, little bro.” Kankuro said, smirking over to the blonde. Said blonde gave the older male a dirty look, which looked closer to a pout.

 

“Hey, I'm not a stray, I'm Naruto! Na-ro-to, believe it!” He would say. It would throw Temari into a fit of giggles before she dragged Kankuro back out of the room and down to the van.

 

“He's gonna have his hands full, especially if that's his roommate.” Kankuro said, mimicking Temari's shit eating grin. Na-ru-to seemed more like the kind of person his little brother would love to hate, and it was more than enough payback for them having to spend 20 hours in a cramped van together.

 

“That's not very nice, Kankuro.” Temari would say, though would silently agree. She was silently also hoping for a little more, but it was much too early to say.

 

Eventually Naruto would leave the red head's dorm, whether it was to bother someone else or to unpack, Gaara didn't know, nor cared. His actual roommate arrived not long after Naruto left, and sort of reminded him of nothing less than a wet dog. He had brown hair, wearing a gray sleeveless hoodie that hid the majority of his hair. What really got to him though, was the bag he was wearing on his back, and the distinct panting that was coming from the bag.

 

“Hey man, I'm Kiba.” He said to the redhead he presumed to be his roommate as he set down some of his stuff on the right side of the room. Gaara didn't say much, sorting through his CD's and stacked them neatly on the corner of his desk before Temari and Kankuro came in with the last of his stuff.

 

“There is a dog in your bag.” He'd say directly, not even bothering to give his roomate his name. Kiba would only laugh a little as the white dog poked it's head out of the bag with a happy look on his face.

 

“Sure is. This is Akamaru, we sort of come as a pair. Office has him down as my companion pet.” He would say, which sent Kankuro back into a fit of laughter. Temari wasn't far behind him, and suddenly Gaara couldn't wait until they headed to their hotel for the night.

 

“Oh this is rich, Gaara. First you have a stray tailing you, now you've found it's owner.” He said, keeled over on the man's bed, which Temari took the liberty of making with the gazillion pillows she'd stuffed in the car. Seriously, there were more pillows than there was mattress space almost. The red head narrowed his eyes, and took out the last of his clothes to stuff into drawers, and his school supplies got to go on his desk. He was definitely reconsidering going to Suna instead. They at least didn't start for another week.

 

“I would advise you to take him out on a regular basis if you plan to keep him here.” He would say, completely ignoring his way too lively siblings as he shot a look to Kiba. The brunette just grinned, showing his obviously implanted canines.

 

“Not a problem. This litte guy can let himself out if he needs to. He's incredibly smart.” Akamaru would let out an 'arf!' at the comment, and soon Kiba would put him on the floor and out of his bag. He immediately jumped up on the still bare bed and laid down.

 

“Well Gaara, we better get going. Let you get acquainted to your dorm mates and all that. We'll come get you for breakfast before we leave.” Temari got up off of his bed, waving a little at her red headed brother and Kankuro followed suit, leaving the two- er, three of them to get acquainted. It was clear as day that Kiba had some sort of dog obsession, as his bedding and posters were mostly of dogs, some with half nude chicks, and a smaller amount with what seemed to be family, all with their respectable dog next to them.

 

The majority of the time Kiba spent working on his side of the room, Gaara was on his laptop, fiddling with the different settings and games that he had neglected during the ten hour trip. He wasn't overly thrilled with the current living arrangement, the wet dog smell only getting worse with time and now there were an extra two bowls in the kitchen area for food and water. It seemed his roommate also wasn't very quiet, though in comparison with the blonde he had run into earlier this man was mute.

 

Speaking of the blonde... he wouldn't get out of his mind.

 

Or, rather, his hair wouldn't. Even if it was much shorter, and seemed to be a lot less taken care of, the man's hair had been way too close to Deidara's. It brought back memories, painful ones, that Gaara spent a month trying to shove away into the back of his mind. It was like a wound that had been ripped open, seemingly with the sharp whisker like marks that Naruto had on his face. One fist clenched and the other ran through his hair, face contorted with anger. Kiba didn't take any notice, since their desks were facing the walls opposite of each other.

 

He decided that the blonde was dangerous, and any danger he would have to avoid at all times. Yes, it was the only way. Even if they were on the same floor, the chances of them seeing each other, or even in the same class, was slim to none.

 

Or so Gaara hoped.

 

**A/N:** Chapter one has been revised. This took a lot longer than expected for me to sit down and write. You can thank Homestuck for that, since it has somehow come and captivated my world. Probably will need to revise this chapter as well at some point before chapter three, but for now I'm too tired. 

 

Please review. It motivates me to put down Homestuck long enough to write.


	3. Danger

Three days passed by without a single hitch. Temari and Kankuro, true to their word, came by the next morning and picked up Gaara for breakfast at one of the restaurants off campus since Gaara wouldn't be able to travel very far on foot, and affording a taxi would be a luxury he would only get once in a blue moon. The two siblings would banter while Gaara tuned them out, answering only if they asked him specific questions, and only if his mouth wasn't full of the spicy sausage which he enjoyed so much. All too soon, Temari would be putting up the seats for the now empty and spacious van, which allowed Kankuro to hide in the back seat while Temari drove home.

 

“Are you sure you'll be alright Gaara? If you need or want to come home at any time, just give us a call and we'll come get you, alright?” Temari asked while hugging him to her. She wasn't one for tears, so she wouldn't cry. At least, not while anyone was looking.

 

“Lighten up, Temari. He'll be fine. There's plenty of fine ass for him to stare at in between classes, right little brother?” Kankuro asked, grinning at him, to which Gaara only returned with a blank face. He wasn't all that excited about looking at 'fine ass'. Especially since none of them were Deidara's fine ass, not that he really wanted to see the blonde's, either.

 

“Be careful.” He would tell them both, watching them cram into the car and drive off back towards their sandy home ten hours away. Gaara was more worried about them, since a lot of the time he was the middle man in keeping them from totally killing each other, and usually was the one who would do important things like buy groceries and keep them both from getting totally smashed. He knew that Temari had Shikamaru though, and that he was planning on moving in since there was now room. Gaara had the biggest room, and now that he was at University Temari could move all hers and Shikamaru's things in there.

 

He had also become more acquainted with his new living space. The campus was huge, having it's own grocery stores, rec center, and restaurants apart from all of the school buildings. His dorm also had a lot of amenities, a game room off to the side of the foyer as well as a cafeteria. In addition, each floor had it's own shared kitchen with stoves, sinks, cutlery, pretty much all the necessities for a kitchen, and also a laundry room for each floor. There wasn't a reason that he would need to leave the campus, but he knew that he would want to eventually. The trees made him feel enclosed compared to the open shifting sands in the desert, and although he thoroughly appreciated the cooler climate, he did not enjoy feeling enclosed in a smaller space.

 

Then there was his roommate. He was slowly getting used to the smell of wet dog, but there were other things that he was definitely not going to get used to. The dog, one that he had come to know was named Akamaru, would always be up at the crack of dawn, yipping for Kiba to get up, which the brown haired man happily obliged. Gaara, being an insomniac, had the hardest time falling asleep let alone staying asleep, so that meant he would get up too with only a few hours to sleep. He knew that if he didn't manage to get in a nap during the day, it wouldn't be long before he started falling asleep in his classes.

 

Monday came all too quickly for them, which meant the start of classes, and for Gaara also meant that his summer vacation was already over. He was used to having a good three months of relaxation, so this one month thing just wasn't cutting it. Combined with his new alarm clock going off at five a.m. he could feel the crankiness swell in his mind. He went into the kitchen area groggily and grabbed himself some oatmeal to eat, not in any rush since he had planned out his classes to start no earlier than ten a.m. So that he could sleep in. That plan obviously went out the window.

 

He was eternally grateful when he discovered that Kiba's classes started at seven in the morning, and that the brunette took the small dog with him everywhere he went. It gave Gaara a chance to lay back down in his bed for two more hours after they had left. He knew he would need to train his body to go back to sleep, but until then laying down and still would be good enough. When his normal alarm at nine went off he would still be awake, but he felt more refreshed than he had in the past three days with his roommate constantly there in the morning. He felt almost joyful putting together his school supplies and making a cup of coffee, not that anyone looking at him could tell.

 

After a long shower and some much needed recon on the map around campus, Gaara headed out for his classes, locking the door behind him and trudged to the stairs, not bothering with the elevator. He enjoyed the fact that it was quiet in the halls of the dorm, most people already being in class by that point. Unfortunately for the red head, that silence wasn't going to last long.

 

“Hey wait up! Your the guy from the other day! Gaara, right?” Instantly all that there was of Gaara's good mood slipped away. He recognized that voice, it was the voice of danger calling out his name. It was a danger that Gaara chose to ignore, but the blonde just kept going on like a broken record. It was enough to set Gaara on edge, pushing him into an uncomfortable state he hadn't really been in before.

 

“...Then I have swim, though that's probably the easiest class I gt since the rest are going to b a pain in the ass. OH! And also 3D design, since, you know, need to be able to actually put the games together, they don't just create themselves, you know? Maybe we could get together for lunch or something, unless you have a different time for lunch, then we'd have to do dinner...” Gaara Continued onto his class, resisting the urge to tell the blonde to fuck off, no, he was better than that. He did his best not to be violent, he'd spent most of his middle school years surrounded by violence, and he hated it. He decided to just go with it, listening to the blonde go on and on, learning that he was going to school to be a video game designer, which gave Gaara a sense of relief. That meant that they wouldn't have a lot, if any, classes together, since Gaara was majoring in business.

 

It wasn't until Gaara was right outside his class that he decided to speak up. The blonde had followed him all the way there for whatever reason, never giving up on trying to get something out of Gaara. “...There's this really cool series out that I wanna go check out, well it's mainly for the band that's featured in it, but-”

 

“You should get to class.” Gaara said shortly, cutting off the blonde's sentence completely. It wasn't until that moment that he realized he hadn't looked at Naruto once the entire way, and when he did he regretted it, face falling into a frown. Naruto noticed, he could read people like a book, but said nothing about it.

 

“Crap, you're right! And it's on the opposite side of campus too! Shit, bye Gaara!” The blonde said, running off. Gaara blinked and walked into class. So his class started the same time Naruto's did, though he wasn't confident that Naruto would be on time often, if at all. Seeing him just once in the morning wasn't going to be all that bad.

 

His first three classes were completely uneventful, save for the heaps of homework he accumulated for all three, but most of it was reading, which Gaara didn't mind. It was the assignments where he had to share things about himself he dreaded, being enclosed by walls upon walls that not even the special people in his life managed to knock over. It was a nightmare, and he had at least three of those kinds of assignments.

 

He decided to put them off until the very last moment, grateful that his classes switched off everyday, and that the only class he did have everyday was in the gym. He didn't much like the idea of sports or working out, but he also didn't like the idea of sitting most of the day everyday. If having a gym class meant he would be able to do more than stare at a book all day, then so be it.

 

He picked up something for lunch at one of the smaller convenience stores on campus, completely forgetting Naruto's lunch offer and opting for the salt and vinegar chips before heading to his final classes of the day. Gaara had brought some gym clothes and a combination lock, quickly picking out his locker and opted into changing in the bathroom stalls. The last thing he wanted was to be awkwardly stared at for whatever reason, or even worse, caught being the one awkwardly staring at someone.

 

Coming back out in gyms shorts and a white tee, he put his regular clothes in his locker and was about to leave, until a hand caught his attention.

 

“Cool, you have a gym class here too, huh Gaara?” The blonde asked casually, grinning from ear to ear. For once, Gaara actually paid full attention to the blonde, though said nothing as he slowly nodded. He couldn't help but glance at the blonde's body, he hadn't realized just how tan Naruto was until his skin was put right next to Gaara's sheet white skin, not to mention the rippling muscles the man had, something that the redhead definitely lacked.

 

He was overly grateful that the blonde was wearing swimming trunks.

 

He had to force his eyes away, afraid of what might happen if they lingered too long on the blonde's abdomen. No, Naruto was danger with a capital 'D', or at least that's what he would tell himself. He would wander out of the changing rooms and towards the weight lifting room, and like in the morning, Naruto had followed him all the way there. Gaara couldn't help but start comparing him to a baby chick following it's mother, and felt almost unnerved by the fact that he wasn't even upset about it anymore.

 

This time it was Gaara's teacher that would make Naruto leave, and for a split second Gaara found himself wishing for the blonde to keep chattering off his ear. But the thought left almost as quickly as it came in, and Gaara could only mentally slap himself before getting to work at the weights. He wasn't all that good at them, but he did enough to cover the whole time for his class. Naruto didn't seem to be in the locker room when he went to change, which made him relax a little, but also a bit curious. When he got out, he left towards the swimming pool- not that he remembered their conversation from that morning. Surely enough, Naruto was still swimming away, and he was one of the few remaining in the class that hadn't gone to change. He could tell Naruto was enjoying himself.

 

Seeing the blonde twice in a day couldn't be all that bad...

 

By the end of his first day of classes, Gaara was exhausted, but he still had things to do. He stopped by the grocery store, picking up some fruits and vegetables as well as some cheap meals. He had been going to restaurant after restaurant for the past three days for all of his meals, lack of sleep making him apathetic, but he knew if he kept it up he wouldn't be able to feed himself by the end of the week. With two arms full of as many groceries he could carry, he headed back to the dorms, heading straight to the shared kitchen first thing.

 

No one seemed to be there around that time, but there were signs of people being there. He sighed and started to wash off one of the pots to use for his dish, cutting up and throwing a bunch of tuff int the pot to simmer down for a while, giving him enough time to take the rest of his groceries to his dorm room. What he heard when he got closer though almost made him turn back the other way. The blonde was definitely in his room, with Kiba, and it sounded like they had known each other for a while. Perfect.

 

Gaara walked in, Wet dog smell wafting into his nose, but said nothing. He was grateful that they hadn't noticed his presence yet. The red head took a moment to glance at the medium sized television that Kiba had sitting on his dresser, some sort of RPG roaring in the background that the two seemed to be taking turns on. Gaara shook his head, focusing on the task at hand as the divided meat into bags for the freezer, and shelved stuff in their proper places in what were deemed his shelves when Gaara and Kiba had decided who got what.

 

“Hey man, you've been gone a while.” Kiba called from his bed, to which Gaara just made a noise of acknowledgment. The noise was enough to make Naruto turn his head, his sky blue eyes boring into the side of the redhead.

 

“Oh this is so cool! You didn't tell me you were bunking with Kiba!” Naruto said, turning back to the game when Kiba finally relinquished the controller to the eager boy.

 

“Yeah, but he doesn't really say much. Kinda boring if you ask me.” The brunette commented, stretching up his arms with a yawn. “Dude, I'm tired. Stay as long as you want, just turn it off before you leave.” Kiba instructed, and before long was out like alight with Naruto at the foot of his bed, still involved in the game. Gaara could only fathom what it would be like to be able to sleep with that much going on.

 

“You wanna take a crack at it?” Naruto asked, standing up off the end of the bed to join Gaara, his hopeful eyes looking up at him. Gaara had every intent of shutting him down, but the moment he glanced over he lost his nerve. For whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to say no. and it bugged the shit out of him.

 

Within minutes he found himself finagling onto the end of Kiba's bed, caught in between the wall, a sleeping dog, and a blonde that he would just love to hate, if he could just manage to make his heart shut up for more than a minute and listen to his brain. This was danger, the whole situation was danger. And yet, strangely enough, he couldn't help but feel comfort in the danger. Naruto was like a bright star, a person so unique and loud that he couldn't help but feel drawn to the whiskered man. He fiddled with the controller for a bit, playing the game until he felt a weight on his shoulder, turning to see Naruto had also fallen asleep. Gaara shook his head, three times a day seeing the tall, muscled, loud, and overly happy blonde maybe, just maybe, wouldn't be all that bad.

 

The smallest of smiles graced his lips. Smiling was something he hadn't done since he was a child.

 

“Did someone forget about their food!?” Someone called from the hallway, and Gaara all but shot out of the room, Waking up Naruto as the blonde crashed onto the floor, screeching as he did so.

 

“Damn that hurt! And I was comfortable too!” He cried out after Gaara, grumbling a little as he got back onto the end of the bed and passed out. Gaara went to inspect the damage in the kitchen, being nothing left but ashes in what was supposed to be his meal for the night.

 

Nope, he was wrong. The blonde was certainly dangerous after all.

 

A/N: Holy cow it's been too long since I updated this. I feel almost bad, but hey, happy new year! I'm hoping to be writing more, as well as completely revamping really old stories to get back into the swing of it. Not sure where this story is gonna take off next, guess we'll find out together!


	4. Just an Hour

The air wafting in from the cracked window was cold and crisp from the autumn air. Sounds of crinkling leaves swaying in the wind was the only thing keeping a stressed out Gaara from going absolutely insane, working on the current business presentation project in front of his face.

It had been two solid months since he had moved to the cooler climate of Konoha for college. The smell the wet dog that had so strongly offended him when he first moved in had become almost background noise to his nose, and he was able to get around to his different classes like clockwork. He even managed to program his internal clock and work around insomnia to fall back to sleep after Kiba left for his classes, leaving him much more clear-headed and able to focus.

The biggest change to date had been his attitude towards a certain blonde. On a normal basis he was graced with the sun kissed male’s presence three times throughout the day. Sometimes more when they managed to meet up for lunch, which seemed to happen more and more often. Gaara had totally let go of his association of Naruto with Deidara by that point, their personalities being on two very opposite sides of the spectrum. Sure they had brief similarities, having blonde hair and being loud and a bit obnoxious, but Naruto had proven time and time again that he would do anything for any one of his friends. He was a very loyal person, and despite being a bit on the lazy side he had direction in his life, something he knew Deidara didn’t have.

None of this could stop the copious amounts of homework from coming in though, and Gaara almost regretted not picking a simpler major than business. After three days of sitting at his laptop during all of his free time his brain was having a hard time staying focused. The assignment was due the next day, and if he could manage to break through the small rut and buckle into the assignment he’d be home free.

All of that wishful thinking went out the window when Naruto busted through the door.

“I’m home!” The blonde joked loudly, causing Gaara to visibly wince after two hours of pure silence. He closed his laptop lid with a small sigh. Ever since Kiba had been spending more time with this new girlfriend, Naruto had been staying in their dorm. He cursed himself on an almost daily basis for introducing the Hyuuga’s and Kiba for that particular reason. Or maybe the cursing was all just secret praises, not that he would admit to it.

“Gee, you’ve been at that stupid presentation for so long! What’s it been, three days? You need a mini vacation Gaara.” Naruto told his pseudo roommate, chucking his overloaded bag on Kiba’s bed. If it had been a trait of Gaara’s to roll his eyes he would have, but instead he kept his placid composure.

“Unlike you my classes require a certain amount of effort put into them every day.” He countered back, though couldn’t deny that a small break was definitely needed. Hesitantly Gaara pulled away from his laptop, getting up to stretch his legs and grab a beer from the fridge that Kiba had thankfully provided.

He sat up on his bed, back resting against the seemingly hundreds of pillows that Temari brought for him and crossed his legs, eyeing Naruto from around the brown, cold bottle. There was just a sense of unpredictability with the blonde. There were nights where he would come in, stay for an hour and do absolutely nothing but chatter until both their ears bled, then left. If he was upset, Naruto usually stayed the whole night regardless of if Kiba was there or not, his chattering down to a low rumble at best.

Occasionally his whisker faced friend would be angry, mostly due to something that his roommate did or said. Apparently him and a man named Sasuke Uchiha had some history, and not all of it was good. Gaara had gotten the gist that they had been best friends since they were kids; always a love hate relationship. He vaguely wondered if the blonde had dated his roommate at some point, but he brushed the idea out of his head as his irritation levels rose. He couldn’t bear the thought of someone hurting Naruto. He deserved only the best in his mind. Gaara quickly brushed that thought out of his head, too.

It was obvious that today Naruto was in a good mood, which usually ended up in something unpredictable happening. Gaara finished off his alcoholic beverage, watching the blonde like a predator who was just waiting for an opportunity to arise and pounce. It seemed the smaller man wouldn’t have long to wait as a bright grin washed over Naruto’s face.

“Ooo I know! Let’s go on a hike!” The whisker-faced man shot out, and Gaara had to raise an imaginary eyebrow. There were plenty of mountains nearby, but it was chilly and already late in the evening. Even now while he silently dreaded the idea. Naruto was emptying out the contents of his backpack onto Kiba’s bed, filling it with the rest of the six pack that his shaggy-haired roommate had put in the fridge.

“It’ll be fun! I know this really neat spot with a waterfall and a whole bunch of leaves and…” He went on and on, and with just how excited Naruto was getting Gaara didn’t have the heart to deny his friend’s request to go on a hike. He got up and threw the empty glass bottle in the recycling bin and pulled out his second dresser drawer. He had a maroon sweater and blue scarf to throw on that he’d bought to go over his already many layers of clothing.

“Alright. But if we don’t make it to the top in an hour we’re coming back.” Gaara answered after Naruto had finished his schpeal. If the blonde’s grin could’ve been any wider it would have been, bounding over to the door of the dorm with beer and backpack in tow. Gaara packed his own bag of stuff, things that they might actually need that he knew his bouncy friend totally spaced grabbing. Once he was satisfied they headed out of the dorm and down the hall, a faint whisper of an idea floating in one of the red head’s ears and quickly out the other. Was this a date?

Perhaps the idea didn’t really leave out the other ear. It sort of stuck with him, whispering in the back of his conscious even as they started up the mountain to Naruto’s hidden spot. The thick forests of Konoha had always been beautiful, and it was the perfect place to take someone on a date even in the cold month of October.

“This is so great! I’ve kinda wanted to show you this place for a while since it’s THE best, but I didn’t really know if you’d wanna see it.” Naruto called back to his companion, who silently blinked. He thought about it for a moment. A month ago Gaara probably wouldn’t have been up for anything like this, especially with the sun kissed man. He couldn’t deny that his horizons were rapidly expanding, and he wasn’t all too sure if he was enjoying it or not. Though at that particular point in time, he didn’t feel the need to complain.

“Just a little farther.” Gaara heard his companion say. They had already been walking almost two hours to get up to their destination, but every time Gaara felt the need to say they should turn back, Naruto did or said something that made him wish the night never had to end. The sound of rushing water came into earshot, and soon enough the two were standing in a small clearing, ice cold water misting them lightly in the blue hues of the evening.

“It is very pretty…” Gaara said in awe, looking up at the smaller waterfall, surrounded by trees that were losing its leaves and a fire pit that seemed well used. Not that he had been very surprised, it was pretty close to a college after all, and this place would probably be very popular for parties in the warmer months.

“Heck yeah it is! Kiba showed me this spot like the first week of school, isn’t it awesome?” Naruto called out, admiring the loud and powerful landmark. Gaara was just as impressed, drinking in the sight in front of him, including his friend that seemed to just enhance the view tenfold. Naruto’s back was straight and he’d set the backpack of beer down, his muscles rippling similar to the water in front of them. He could have stared at his friend for hours it seemed, but his senses kick started when he realized the forest had gone almost pitch black.

“Naruto, we won’t make it back before nightfall.” The red head stated curtly. He should have felt annoyed, anger, anything, but he didn’t.

“Relax would ya? It’s not that far from here. We’ll make it back in no time!”

The red head opened his mouth to protest. Naruto had picked up a few of the dry branches and logs of wood that were around presumably to make a fire, meaning they were going to stay longer. He knew it was a bad idea, but the more he tried the more stuck his jaw got, looking more like a gaping fish than someone who had an argument to make. In the end he watched as sparks seemed to set a few leaves on fire, then twigs and finally the whole lot of logs were ablaze.

“There, that should keep us warm for a while.” Naruto said, plopping himself on one of the logs surrounding the campfire, warming his hands with a smile. Gaara forced his body to move and sit next to the beautiful blonde, finding himself watching him instead of the fire on front of them. The illumination of the fire just made the blonde’s tan look that much more heavenly, and Gaara had to look away to keep himself from touching his skin.

“We shouldn’t stay here for very long. It’s going to get colder Naruto.” He finally said in mild protest, though if there was any urgency in his voice he couldn’t find it. The air was crisp and the campfire was a nice contrast to that, one that seemed to draw both of the men in. It was enough to make Gaara wish he never had to leave, not without Naruto at his side the entire way.

“Yeah yeah. Just a little longer!” The blonde practically whined at his friend. He pulled the beers out of his backpack, opened one and offered it to Gaara who took it gratefully. Maybe it was all of the alcohol in his system that made him feel the way he did, though he highly doubted it since he had only downed the one beer back in the dorm. Taking a swig of the new bottle of liquid gold he watched Naruto open a bottle of his own, turning his attention back to the fire.

“Hey, thanks for coming with me.” Naruto said, in such a gentle voice Gaara had to question if it was really his friend talking. He blinked and took another drink while he thought about what to say.

“Someone had to make sure you didn’t freeze to death.” He rationalized, pulling out a neatly folded, large comforter out of the bag he had been carrying. Gaara promptly wrapped them into their own little cocoon, which Naruto was happy to comply to as he wrapped his arms around Gaara’s waist. Gaara was glad at that point that it was late and his face couldn’t be seen, rosy pink dusting over his cheeks.

“Seriously though. I like your company a lot, Gaara.” Naruto said. His breath was even and warm, wafting through the many layers of shirts the red head was wearing almost too easily. Eventually he lost count of how long they had been sitting there in each other’s company, and briefly wondered if Naruto had fallen asleep since he was so quiet.

When the fire started to die out, Gaara braved unraveling their cocoon enough to look at his companion. A small smile graced his lips; he had become fond of the sight of seeing Naruto sleep. There were times like this that he wished in never had to end.

He supposed he could let his friend sleep just a little longer.

Gaara found out by the next morning that those would be his last words. Not literally, of course. At some point, Gaara had actually gotten comfortable enough to fall asleep curled up on top of Naruto. It had been a little chilly, but Naruto practically radiated heat, so the low forty-degree air didn’t manage to bother them. However, While Naruto seemed to be in seventh heaven, Gaara was absolutely miserable. His neck hurt in ways he didn’t know was possible, and he was pretty sure that they were both late for their classes. Meaning they would both be in a heap of trouble trying to catch up.

“Ahh c’mon Gaara, Don’t be like that! It was totally worth it.” Naruto said in his usual chipper manner. It tore at Gaara’s miserable-ness like a knife through paper.  
“I told you one hour, Naruto.” He said in a deadly calm manner. Sure he enjoyed getting to be close to Naruto, watching his sleeping face, wondering how soft his lips were… But school was also important to him, he forced his brain to think as he massaged the back of his neck.

“I seriously didn’t know it would take two and a half hours to climb the mountain! And you can’t tell me you weren’t at least a little excited to get to the top.” The blonde reasons. Gaara decides not to argue with his friend anymore as they came out of the clearing, the dorms in sight.

“Maybe a little bit.” Gaara said in exasperation. As he followed Naruto up the flight of stairs, he realized that he had yet to ever see the inside of his friend’s dorm room. At first it was because he wanted to avoid the man altogether, now it was to avoid the roommate from hell that he seemed to have. Out of habit he was about to walk past to his own dorm but decided to stop when the blonde did, waiting on him to open the door.

“Knock knock teme.” He called out sarcastically, his tone completely different then how he had greeted Gaara the night before. Said teme was laying on his bed, raven hair framing his face as his stoic look suddenly turned into a scowl.

“I thought I said don’t came back today, idiot.” Sasuke called back. That irked Gaara a little, but his friend only snorted and waved it off.

“Ya can’t exactly lock me out. I have a key and my shit’s in here too.” He shot back, throwing the bag containing the empty beer bottles and his keys on his bed. The room was identical to his and Kiba’s, though there was a long line of scotch tape cutting the room in half. Sasuke’s side was ridiculously pristine, everything had its own place, and there was not a piece of clothing or a random paper out of line. Naruto’s however was a definite train wreck. He had clothes and papers scattered to kingdom come, and his bed was barely even visible. Did the mattress even have a sheet on it? Gaara didn’t want to know. Naruto always kept whatever messes he made in his and Kiba’s room to a minimum, so it must have been something he did to purposely piss Sasuke off.

“Well maybe if you put your shit away once in a while I wouldn’t have to kick you out.” He seethed back, trying to be at least a little civilized in front of his dorm guest. Gaara didn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed by his friend’s less than pleasant roommate. He decided to go with neither as he carefully tip toed through Naruto’s stuff, sitting on the little space of bed left uncovered on the edge.

“Well maybe if you’d quit whining about every little thing I would!” The blonde huffed, sending a small apologetic look towards the man now sitting on his bed.

“… You know what, fuck it. I’m not going to fight you in front of your new boy toy.” Sasuke scoffed, getting up and grabbed his jacket and a book before heading to the door. The implication that Sasuke threw out made Naruto blush a little. This caught Gaara’s attention, since he hadn’t known which team his friend batted for.

“H-he’s not my boy toy, teme, he’s my friend.” He grumbled out, letting out a breath when his roommate finally left.

“Sorry about that. He’s an ass by nature.” Naruto said with annoyance, starting to clean up his side of the room a little. Gaara blinked and watched for a minute, before standing up and started helping put things away.

“It’s fine. I know what it’s like to share space with someone unpleasant.” Gaara said, unsure if he was talking about his dad, or the many exes that had left him. Probably both, he thought bitterly while folding the many clothes on the bed to be put away in drawers.

“He did bring up an interesting question.” Gaara braved saying while sorting the clean laundry from the dirty, folding whatever smelled good enough to be considered unworn. That was difficult though, when Naruto naturally smelled good. At least, to the red head anyway.

“Did you two ever date?” He asked, causing Naruto to stop dead in his tracks.

“W-well we uh... yeah. Broke up in the middle of junior year though. Sorry if it bothers you that... Well that-”

“Homosexuality doesn't bother me, Naruto.” He said, saving his friend from feeling even more embarrassed. A wave of emotions hit him from the realization that Naruto was gay. The most prominent one, was the feeling of hope that maybe, just maybe, he liked him.

There was also an equal amount of doubt and jealousy. He was living in the same dorm room as his ex from high school, and even though Naruto spent a lot of time with him and Kiba there was no competing with sharing a total living space. He knew that if there had been a spark there once, there definitely could be one again, especially since Naruto didn't seem like the kind of guy to give up on something so easily. Then there was the obvious question of whether or not Gaara would want a relationship, so soon after everything went down with... THAT blonde. The thought made his eyes furrow in both anger and confusion.

“Oh, well that's a relief. I mean I really like you- w-well like you as in you know what I mean, and I wouldn't want our friendship ending over something like that, you know?” the blonde said, nervously chuckling as he threw away whatever trash was lying on the floor.

“I understand, Naruto. See you after class.” Gaara said, finishing up sorting the piles of laundry before taking his leave. He was already half an hour late to his class, with a project he didn't have done thanks to a blonde idiot. Still, he definitely couldn't deny that the trip up the mountain was totally worth it.

Or at least that's what he told himself before a string of sneezes left his nose. He let out a low grumble and stopped by his room, picking up all the materials and his laptop left out on the desk. If he was out of commission for a few days, he planned to get his revenge by making Naruto take care of him. Not that he thought his friend would mind.  
Things were about to get a whole lot more interesting at Konoha University.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wooo an update! For the first time in forever! It's a bloody miracle! -smiles-  
> I'm hoping to start really picking up this story from this point on. This was more of a necessary filler chapter than anything, but depression is a bitch. It's hard to sit down and write when you just don't have the desire to do so. But I'm going to try to push at least something out once a week, just to keep the momentum going. Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed reading!


	5. Desicions

Tick. Tick. Tick. The sound of a clock ticking in the background did not help Gaara's thought process one bit. He had a test that afternoon, one that he had finished half an hour early, which usually wasn't that big of a deal. But every second he spent not doing anything to improve his academic performance, he spent thinking about a certain blonde. More specifically, the conversation he had with said blonde only a few days prior.

It wasn’t like there was any REAL meaning behind it. They had just come to a mutual understanding that Naruto was gay, and Gaara was okay with that. It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, true friends were always supportive of other’s life choices. The red head was also very content on his single status after what had happened not even four months ago. He didn’t need anyone to survive through his college years and become a successful owner of a big company.

Yet here he was, doodling the sun in the middle of his communications class, because there was no sunlight shining through outside. And the sun was very warm, bright, and golden. Like Naruto, he let himself think before promptly erasing all of the suns he doodled vigorously. It was silly of him to be this distracted over something he didn’t want. Or at least, something he kept telling himself he didn’t want.

In reality though, he couldn’t deny that the idea of a relationship with the blonde was an appealing one. He was more afraid of the rejection, or all the ‘what if’s he could count on all his fingers and toes of all the things that had happened to him before. Naruto was a better man than any of his exes had ever been, but people always changed. Naruto would change, and eventually he may end up changing into the very type of person Gaara tried to avoid. The red head seemed to have that effect on people.

When the instructor announced that the people who were done could leave Gaara practically bolted out of his seat. He needed nothing more than to get the hell out of there and get somewhere where he could start on his homework. Maybe he would read ahead while he was at it, send an email to his teachers about possible extra credit-

“Oh, hey Gaara!”

Or maybe he would just throw all of those ideas out the window in favor of his current favorite person. He was inwardly debating on whether or not he wanted to curse or praise the instructor for letting him out twenty minutes early.

“Good afternoon, Naruto.” He said politely, deciding that he would do neither at the moment and just see where this conversation led them. Naruto had a way of making adventures appear seemingly out of nowhere, and the shorter male couldn’t help but be ecstatic about that idea.

“You’re usually in class for a while. You feeling okay?” Naruto asked after a bit, causing Gaara to turn his head and hide a blush. No, no he was not okay, but he wasn’t about to tell his friend that it was indirectly his fault.

“There was a test, and I finished early. The instructor let us go.” He explained, heading towards the cafeteria knowing that his blonde friend would more than likely follow him, even without an invitation. Gaara took peace in knowing that it was an odd hour, so there likely wasn’t going to be a lot of people there and he could get a lot done. Or at least a lot of staring done.

“Oh cool! We can eat lunch together!” Naruto said, excitement shining from his eyes as they went and bought their food. Gaara reached in his bag to find his wallet, but before he could take it out his friend had already paid for his meal.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s on me today.” Naruto told him and his heart involuntarily skipped a beat. Since when was the organ allowed to do that without permission? Perhaps it was because of the implication that it may or may not be their second informal ‘date’. He mentally cursed himself and Naruto for letting that implication be anywhere near a reality.

Instead of trusting himself to speak he nodded, taking his choice meal of beef broccoli and rice and sat at one of the round tables that lined the large windows in the cafeteria. There was no doubt in his mind that there would be a downpour sometime that day, but he hoped it was long after his classes were over and he was back in his dorm. He looked up at his blonde companion, who was unceremoniously slurping noodles loudly out of a bowl, his head resting on his hand. Times like these he wondered what on earth he saw in Naruto, but having those beautiful blue orbs look up to him with a heart-eating smile told it all.

The organ was skipping beats once again.

“So uh hey. It’s Friday…” Naruto started, pausing after a bit. Gaara blinked expectantly, wondering where he was going with this.

“A-and usually I go home and visit with granny Tsunade and hang out with friends who didn’t come to college or live close by. Usually I’ll bring the teme with since he’s got family issues and doesn’t like staying on campus, but his brother is in town from Japan and he’s being a royal ass anyway and well... Do you wanna come?” Naruto asked, and the red head blinked again.

Usually most of the people he knew on campus would leave to go home for the weekends since they lived relatively close. Gaara did not, and while he didn’t mind the peace and quiet usually, he really didn’t like being alone. Shoving the thought that he was just Sasuke’s replacement aside, he nodded again thoughtfully as he slowly chewed on a piece of beef.

“Yeah. It would be nice to get away from the campus.” He mused, and Naruto’s bright smile just got brighter, melting whatever was left of the ice that clung to Gaara’s wounded heart. He really liked- no, maybe even loved- that smile.

“Great! I’ll come grab you after our last classes and we can leave.” The blonde said, proceeding to fall into their ritual of Naruto chatting his ear off and Gaara staying quiet for the most part, commenting only when he felt it was appropriate. In the back of his mind he wondered what Naruto’s grandmother would be like, a picture of an old, feminine Naruto holding a cane came into vision and he couldn’t help but outwardly snort in laughter. That caught Naruto’s attention, and Gaara could only look away and hide his face through his hand in embarrassment.

“Hey, are you laughing? Aw yeah, I finally managed to use my awesome pun power to make you cave!” Naruto said in victory. In truth, Gaara had totally missed what the tan man was talking about, but he decided to roll with it and just nodded for the third time that day, stuffing his face full of food to distract himself.

It was around three in the afternoon when Gaara finally returned to his dorm. There was evidence that Kiba had already started his own trip back to his house, which the red head assumed had to be close to Naruto’s since the dog man was three years older, yet him and Naruto were good friends.

He opted to pull out a second bag from the storage underneath his bed for the essentials, since he had at least one paper to write over the weekend and didn’t want to empty out his well-organized school bag. Then he began to graciously dump in two changes of clothes, some sweat pants and a long sleeve pajama shirt, extra socks, and his toothbrush before deeming himself ready. But he wasn’t excited, no, not in the least.

He really needed to stop lying to himself. It was a very unhealthy habit.

“Knock knock! The car is warming up outside.” Naruto called into his friend’s dorm room happily, carrying his own bag of belongings. Gaara didn’t need to see in it to know that Naruto had just stuffed his clothes on top of his schoolbooks and haphazardly thrown around papers. He shook his head and grabbed his two packed bags.

“Alright, I’m ready. Please don’t get us killed on the road.” Gaara said in an attempt to joke, which seemed to work to rile up his blonde haired friend.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I am a total champ at Mario Kart.” He said with a grin, not so subtly reminding Gaara of his friends love for video games. He smirked and shook his head, ushering them both out of the room and locked it behind him before heading out to the thankfully warm car.

At some point the rain had decided to turn into snow. It was a very uncommon sight in Suna, so Gaara had been a little spooked when he’d trudged through the slush to get back to his dorm. Konoha had a different climate though, and he assumed that he would need to get used to seeing the white stuff everywhere. Including on Naruto’s bright orange Ford.

“I’m not convinced.” Gaara told his friend, carefully positioning his bags in the backseat before slipping into the passenger’s side of the car. He wasn’t all too fond of the vehicles, opting out of taking driving lessons in high school since everything in Suna he needed was in walking or bus distances. He did know that Ford had a really bad reputation, and having an orange car of that brand was just practically screaming for something to go wrong.

“Ahh, We’ll be fine. This baby was brand new two years ago and it hasn’t given me a single problem yet.” Naruto said confidently, throwing on his seatbelt and threw the car in reverse before taking off towards the highway. Gaara felt a little giddy as they left the college campus, not having an opportunity to adventure out before then.

They made it to the house a little over an hour later, having beat rush hour by just a smidge. Gaara looked to the dark brown wooden exterior and smiled softly. He was used to stucco homes that blended in with the dirt that came with living in the middle of a desert. In comparison, Naruto’s place looked more than a little homey.

“Granny’s probably getting food ready right now, so I’ll show you my room first. You can leave your stuff in there.” He said and scrambled out of the driver’s seat. Gaara followed suit and pulled his things out of the backseat, following Naruto through the living room and up the stairs to where the future game developers room was.

There were a couple of things Gaara realized when he walked in. First was that Naruto’s home was a lot less modest then his own, which in his mind was a good thing. His father had always been about keeping up appearances, and anything out of place could easily get him and his siblings in a world of trouble. The blonde’s place looked more than a little lived in; a worn shoji board and deck of cards laying haphazardly on the glass coffee table, coffee mug prints lining the edges. There were also a few medical books that no doubt belonged to Naruto’s grandmother, both stacked neatly and strewn on the floor as if she’d recently been looking for something, a couple empty bottle of sake placed next to the cream couch. Even such trivial things meant a lot in Gaara’s mind.

The second thing was Naruto’s absolute obsession with video games. Sure, he knew the blonde had been going to school to become a game designer, but the scene in front of him was insane. There were two decent sized bookshelves next to Naruto’s bed full of video games of all shapes and sizes. Whatever space wasn’t taken up by games was filled with game guides and art supplies, which the red head assumed made sense since game design was also heavily art-based. There was also a small television hooked up to no less than three different consoles, sitting on a table at the end of the full sized bed that had orange sheets on it.   
He turned to the desk that Naruto also had in his room and sure enough, the rig he had was glorious. Gaara was more into books, but even he could admire a very nice computer when he saw one, mentally noting how every piece was cycling through a myriad of colors in sync. It was well over the top.

“This is insane.” Gaara said, since it was the only word that he could think of at the time. Naruto let out a chuckle and pet his rig tower gently.

“Yep, this is my baby. Though I’ve been playing a lot more console games lately instead of MMO’s since that’s what I’m aiming to make. I can’t wait to show you the den later.” Naruto said, making Gaara wonder just what the den was. He decided not to think about it much, putting his bags next to Naruto’s and shucked off his shoes.

“Boys, get your asses down here for dinner!” Came a relatively frightening voice from downstairs. Gaara looked over at Naruto in question, hoping that his face didn’t give away just how intimidated he was. Judging by the sheepish look the blue-eyed man had on though, it did show.

“Don’t worry, she’s all bark and no bite. Besides I think she’ll like you a lot, so you got nothing to worry about.” Naruto comforted lightly, bounding down the stairs with the red head in tow. He looked almost shyly at the blonde, busty woman that greeted them with a confident smile, wooden cooking spoon in hand. Idly he wondered if Naruto had ever played victim to her breaking similar spoons over his ass as a kid. He pushed the morbid thought out of his head.

“Well well, you must be Gaara. You’re a little scrawnier than Naruto made you out to be, but that can be easily fixed. Name’s Tsunade.” The woman greeted, and Gaara was in shock by the woman’s bluntness. Had anyone but her said that to him they would have gotten the snot beaten out of them. Somehow though, it sounded endearing from the woman who looked as though she was no older than forty.

He bowed respectfully, as his father always taught when meeting people older than him. “You’re a doctor?” He asked as he came back up, holding out his hand for her to shake. The woman blinked and laughed loudly, pulling the smaller man into a one-armed hug.

“Scrawney and polite, I like you!” She said, releasing Gaara out of her death grip and waved her spoon towards the kitchen.

“Yeah I’m a doctor, but just Tsunade is fine. The whole ‘doctor’ title makes me feel old, and don’t you start calling me granny either. I can’t count how many times I’ve told Naruto not to.” She muttered.  
“I can’t help it! You ARE my grandma, and it’s just too weird to call you Tsunade all the time!” Naruto defended with a smile, rubbing the back of his blonde locks. She let out a huff and turned her back to them, gesturing for them to follow into the kitchen where three plates of food were waiting for them.

“Thank you for the food, and letting me stay here. It looks delicious.” Gaara said, munching on his food quietly while Naruto and Tsunade went off. It was easy to see where Naruto got his eccentric personality from. He couldn’t help but wonder what Naruto’s parents were like, or if they were even around at all. The thought that he had never bothered to ask made him frown.

“Nah anytime kid. It’s been a while since Naruto had a decent friend.” She said, the way she emphasized the word ‘friend’ made him a little wary. She obviously knew about Naruto’s preferred sexuality, and about his and Sasuke’s unique love-hate relationship.

“Keep your weird accusations to yourself, granny!” Naruto cried, a blush showing on the blonde’s ears. Gaara said nothing, only observed the two as the heat Naruto produced in his embarrassment wafted over to him. He didn’t miss the look that Tsunade gave him, the knowing look that wasn’t unlike the one that Temari gave him the time he had denied having feelings for Deidara. A look that had eventually given him the courage to ask the long haired blonde out.

His heart hit the bottom of his stomach remembering how quickly that courage was built in vain.

“…Gaara? You’re studying to take over your dad’s old business, right?” Naruto asked for what had to of been at least the second time, snapping Gaara back to reality. He quickly eyed the two blondes and nodded, taking a bite of his food politely even though he had abruptly lost his appetite.

“That’s correct. It’s currently being run by an estranged uncle of mine, but he will have to legally turn it over when I finish college.” He confirmed after swallowing his bite of food.

“It seemed like a secure future, and my older siblings didn’t want to take over the business.” He added after a bit. He looked up and was about to ask why Tsunade was frowning, but didn’t get the chance as she immediately spoke her mind.

“You don’t seem all that thrilled. Is that really what you want?” She asked, which made Gaara pause. He had never been asked that, not by Temari or Kankuro, or anyone before.

He knew that he wanted stability, and that was something that the business could do for him. He also knew that it would keep him busy, and busy was a good way to keep him out of trouble. It was a good way of not getting hurt. But was it something he really wanted to do for the rest of his life? He couldn’t bring himself to really say yes.

“I… Don’t know.” He answered honestly, setting down his fork as he furrowed his brow uncomfortably.

“Ahh well don’t get discouraged. You’ll either love it and if you don’t, you seem like a smart enough kid to figure something else out.” Tsunade said with a smile. Gaara looked over to his unusually quiet friend, who was looking at him with a frown. He immediately turned it around to look like determination, standing up from the table and set his hands on the wood.

“Enough of this grown-up work talk! Thanks for the food granny, it was great!” Naruto said, beaming as he took Gaara’s pale hand within his own, pulling him in the direction that led out of the kitchen.

“We’ll be upstairs if you need us.” He said again, and this Gaara time Gaara stood up, leaving his half-eaten dinner for Tsunade to clean up. He sent her what he hoped was an apologetic look as he was dragged off by Naruto, who promptly shut his bedroom door behind them.

“Sorry about that. You looked really uncomfortable and I didn’t want you to feel overwhelmed or nothin’. Especially with all of her crazy ‘hinting that we’re a couple’ crap.” Naruto explained, letting out a loud sigh as he leaned against the door. Gaara shook his head, moving to sit at the end of Naruto’s bed.

“Like I said, it doesn’t bother me, Naruto. People are going to believe what they want to.” He said, deciding not to add the rest of his thought process. That it wasn’t all that unbelievable, at least to the red head. Naruto was a very likeable person, and he was gay. He was only flattered that they thought that Naruto would pick him.

Would Naruto like him like that? His thought wandered down that dangerous path for a minute. He supposed there was a very small chance, and he hadn’t mentioned it possibly because Gaara had never bothered to disclose his sexuality to the blonde, for obvious reasons. He wasn’t really looking. But he guessed it wouldn’t hurt to drop a hint or two his direction.

“My last ex-boyfriend was blonde haired and blue eyed, too. Though he was nothing like you.” Gaara said, causing Naruto’s face to snap in the direction of his jade-eyed friend quickly, his own eyes wide in shock.  
“What happened? I mean, if you don’t mind telling me.” Naruto asked quickly. Gaara turned his attention to his hands, that seemed very active in that moment as they clenched and unclenched into fists.

“He cheated on me. Five times in our three-year relationship.” He said, and Naruto openly gaped at his friend. It didn’t take a genius to know what his friend was thinking, hell, he himself wondered what possessed him to invest as much time as he did with an obviously broken from the start relationship.

“FIVE TIMES!? Are you kidding me!?” Naruto practically screamed, causing the red head to flinch. He couldn’t stand it when people yelled, especially at him.

“And it never occurred to you that you might deserve more than that low-life bastard?” He asked softer this time after noticing Gaara’s uncomfortable position. It didn’t take long for the red head to shake his head in a very definite ‘no’.

“I was extremely violent in middle school, and the majority of my relationships were abusive ones, friend and otherwise. Having him cheat on me was extremely tame in comparison to some of the things I’ve had done to me and what I did to others. If anything, Karma was showing me mercy.” He said, and believed every word of it. He couldn’t count how many people he left bleeding, battered and broken over those four awkward and horrible years of his life.

“So!? Everyone had a horrible time in middle school. But people can change, Gaara. You’ve changed from that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you even hurt a fly before!” The taller male said, exasperated. Gaara said nothing to that, slipping on his usual stoic face to hide how he really felt. Naruto didn’t need to see how much pain he was really in. Too bad for Gaara that the blonde wasn’t a total idiot like his roommate thought he was.

“Don’t just shut off like that.” Naruto said calmly, stand upright from where he was on the door. He walked over and sat next to his friend on the bed, taking Gaara’s hands into his. Idly Gaara noted how nice the slightly calloused fingers felt next to his own, smooth as silk ones. It was just enough to slightly crack away at Gaara’s façade, his eyes showing his pain to the sky blue orbs in front of them. It was hard not to lose himself, lose his pain in those beautiful orbs that practically screamed sunshine.

“Naruto… You’re right. That’s why I finally left him and decided to go to school here. But I’m not… I don’t think I’m ready to start looking again yet.” Gaara admitted, feeling a little too exposed for his liking. This was Naruto though. He could trust the man with his life if he needed to, and somehow he knew it without question.

“I guess that makes sense. If I ever meet this son of a bitch though, I’m gonna beat the shit outta him.” Naruto said, his voice in a low growl. Was that a hint of possessiveness Gaara heard?

“Please, don’t Naruto. He isn’t worth your time nor mine. I already punched him and got it out of the way.” He said, wincing again at that. He had been a pacifist for three years, and it was all pushed down the drain thanks to Deidara. He only hoped that he could stay a pacifist this time, not that the man with the winged eyeliner and sweaty palms was permanently out of his life.

“Ahh fine. Still don’t like him though.” Naruto said, crossing his arms with a huff. It was enough to get Gaara at least a little less sad.

“I appreciate it. It’s nice knowing that I have such a good friend.” Gaara said. An unreadable expression passed on Naruto’s face, if only for a second before he put on his signature grin, wrapping an arm around Gaara’s neck.

“Hey, that’s what we’re for. Come on, I’ll show you how good I really am behind the steering wheel!” He said, letting go of the red head and walked up to the small TV in his room, turning it on before chucking two Wii remotes onto the large bed. Gaara happily took the opportunity for a distraction, shifting over to the side of the bed that had a wall on it. He noted that it was a lot more comfortable then the end of Kiba’s bed, probably because there was actually enough room for two people. He couldn’t help but miss the close contact a little, though.

Several games and hours later, both boys were reaching their limits. The red head had totally forgotten about their earlier talk by that point, too entranced by the fact that he was actually winning in a video game against his blonde friend, who supposedly wanted to be a game developer. Naruto stared at the screen for a few seconds before throwing the remote across the room, groaning.

“I can’t believe it!” He whined, sitting up off the bed. Gaara was smiling a little in pride at the score, but it didn’t last long as Naruto quickly began stripping out of his orang jacket and black top.

“…What are you doing?” Gaara asked, blinking. He tried very hard to make his neck turn away from his friend, but his eyes were practically glued to the tan skin that he’d only seen once before. And kami above, that back was utter perfection.

“Uh, changing to sleep. I’m kinda tired and we got plans tomorrow.” Naruto explained, his pants soon coming off too. For the love of all things decent Naruto had thankfully left his boxers on and stayed turned with his back facing Gaara, throwing on a pair of thin, long pajama pants. His heart thumped in his chest when he realized Naruto was going to sleep shirtless, though.

“R-right.” Gaara said, slowly pulling himself off the bed and started changing into his own sleeping attire. He outwardly shivered, partially because it was extremely cold compared to what he was used to at home, and partially because he was so sure that Naruto was staring at him, the same way he had been staring not moments before.

He pulled on his much heavier sweatpants and long sleeved, forest green shirt, eyeing the large bed warily. He knew that it was more than big enough for the two of them, but he didn’t really know if Naruto wanted to…  
“It’s not like we haven’t slept together before.” Naruto said with a wink, beckoning him onto the bed. Gaara vaguely remembered their time out in the woods and blushed, following Naruto. He hesitantly crawled into the side of the bed that was next to the wall, Naruto moving to turn off the light before crawling into bed with him.

“There. See, I won’t bite.” The blonde chirped, smiling at Gaara. Honestly he couldn’t remember how long he had just laid there, watching Naruto the same way Naruto watched him. He knew there were unspoken words there, things that they both wanted to say but knew they couldn’t, or even shouldn’t. 

At some point Gaara’s eyes grew heavy, and the darkness of the room turned into the darkness of his eyelids. He vaguely registered a familiar warmth radiate towards his body, and what he could have sworn were soft rose petals caressing his forehead gently. He smiled into the feeling and ended up entangling himself in it, drifting to sleep happily for the first time in ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Omai, this is almost unheard of! Two updates in two weeks!? Wuuut.  
> Special thanks to Andil, who unknowingly sparked up a lot of inspiration in me to keep it up. I haven’t written like this in a long time, and it felt really good to finish almost the entire chapter in a single day.  
> Please review. Even if you don’t really want to, do it. It can have night and day effects on someone’s self-confidence.


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